Late $1.8M surge for John James tests Michigan campaign finance law

$1.8M Michigan Repubilcan Party ad buy for gubernatorial nominee John James sparks legal complaint by Democrats
Spending is linked to Dan and Douglas DeVos, who contributed $2 million to a separate committee that gave to Michigan GOP
Democrat Jocelyn Benson still narrowly outraised James, taking in more than $4 million

LANSING — A $1.8 million ad buy from the Michigan Republican Party helped Republican gubernatorial nominee John James pull near even with rival Jocelyn Benson in post-primary fundraising but sparked a swift legal complaint from state Democrats.

The late-breaking support, linked to the powerful DeVos family and reported by James less than two weeks from the Nov. 3 general election, exceeds state contribution limits in what appears to be a test of Michigan law following a US Supreme Court decision regarding federal limits on political party spending.

James reported raising $3.9 million since late August, just shy of the $4.1 million raised by Benson.

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Several recent polls have shown Benson leading James, but within the margin of error. The Democrat and groups supporting her have significantly outspent James and his supporters after the Republican Governors Association withdrew millions in planned ad spending.

The governor’s election, which tops the ballot, has not drawn as much donor interest as Michigan’s US Senate race but has significant implications for down-ticket contests, including the battle for control of the state House and Senate.

DeVos donations draw complaint

The Michigan Republican Party’s ad spend helped boost James earlier this month after Chairman Jim Runestad had promised “many millions” to help the GOP nominee make up for his financial disadvantage.

Friday’s filings appeared to reveal the source of those funds. A committee formed by the Republican Governors Association, Michigan Victory 2026, reported receiving a total of $2 million from Dan and Douglas DeVos, both members of the billionaire GOP megadonor family, on Oct. 19 and 20.

The Michigan Republican Party had reported receiving $2 million from the Victory 2026 committee less than a week prior, and later reported spending $1.8 million on “placed media” along with another $100,000 as a direct contribution to James’ campaign.

Michigan campaign finance law allows state political parties to give up to $750,000 in help to gubernatorial candidates such as James who have accepted public funding. James reported receiving a total of $1.9 million from the party.

The Michigan Democratic Party quickly filed a campaign finance complaint against the James campaign and state GOP.

“It seems to me obvious on its face that that’s a clear violation of the Michigan campaign finance law,” said Bob Labrandt, a longtime Republican political operative who now advocates for reform. But he predicted “we’re going to be long past Inauguration Day” before there is any resolution to the complaint.

“The remedy is always the problem,” LaBrandt added. He is still waiting to learn the outcome of his campaign finance complaint over Democratic attorney general nominee Eli Savit’s use of a government vehicle on the campaign trail, which first came to light in April.

The James campaign is pushing an untested legal theory, leaning on a recent US Supreme Court ruling that allows political parties — at the federal level — to spend unlimited amounts to support their candidates.

At a campaign event Saturday morning, James acknowledged that outside groups had given Benson a decided ad advantage, saying “we’ve been outspent by $20 million” but that the race is still close.

“We’re gonna push for as many resources as we can using Supreme Court rulings and also the precedent and examples set by other states,” he told Bridge Michigan. “We’re working with new rules to make sure that people get the information they need to make their decisions in the final days.”

James declined to say how much financial support he anticipated to receive through the state party.

Democrats are asking the Michigan Department of State to “assess all penalties or fees” against James’ campaign and Michigan GOP.

In a statement, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel called the move “last-minute desperation from the DeVos family to attempt to buy this election, and James and the DeVoses are willing to break the law to do so.”

Who else is donating?

The filings are the public’s first significant glimpse into state-level fundraising following the August primary but more than a month after absentee ballots were sent to voters — and a little more than a week before Election Day.

While James reported more than $3.9 million in fundraising for the period, close to $800,000 of that total was included as an “accounting transfer” of money the James campaign reported it had already raised.

The campaign did not respond to questions from Bridge Michigan about the filing or the campaign finance complaint.

James’ individual donors giving the $8,325 maximum included:

Mark Bissell, chairman of Bissell Inc.
Dan Hibma, a real estate developer, longtime GOP donor and husband of former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land.
Prominent west Michigan GOP families including the Van Andels, Balkemas and Vanderlaans.

Michigan’s marijuana industry has coalesced around James, who has courted their support by promising to repeal the 24% wholesale tax on the drug that has roiled the industry.

After raising $90,000 at an industry-organized fundraiser this summer, James’ new disclosure shows he attended another fundraiser filled with marijuana business owners at O Cigar Bar in Lake Orion, netting $62,000 from 35 donations. Other marijuana business officials, in a different fundraiser at Ocean Prime in Troy, raised an additional $85,000 for James.

Mission Michigan, the super PAC supporting James, won’t have to file a disclosure until Monday, but on Friday it filed a late contribution report showing James’ family company, the James Group International, donated $625,000 to the PAC on Thursday.

Benson, meanwhile, reported maximum individual donations of $8,325 from:

Christy and James Walton, members of Walmart’s Walton family
Mike Musheinesh, CEO of Detroit Axle
Two members of technical staff from the AI company Anthropic
Prolific Democratic donor Megan Hull

Benson, who once touted herself as “the only candidate not taking utility money in this gov race,” also accepted a $8,325 donation from Joi Harris, the president and CEO of DTE Energy.

A majority of the money Benson raised, about $2.7 million, came from within Michigan. The same is true of James, who brought in nearly $2.3 million from Michigan donors. Overall fundraising by the gubernatorial candidates is slightly lower than in 2022, as the record-spending US Senate race dominated Michigan’s airwaves and donor’ priorities.